One Sursock left his Beirut villa to the city as a museum; another Sursock palace passed to a single heiress; the 2020 port blast hit both, and she died of her injuries

Moussa and Anastasia Sursock built their palace in Beirut in 1860 with the Balyan family of architects, who also worked for the Ottoman sultans. Their granddaughter Yvonne became its sole owner after her aunt Isabelle bought out her siblings' shares and gave them to her. In 1946 she married Sir Desmond Cochrane, Ireland's honorary consul. Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock died in 1952. His will left his mansion to the citizens of Lebanon as an art museum and placed his whole estate in a waqf. The trustee was to be the head of Beirut's municipality, whatever regime held power. It took nine years to carry out; in the meantime President Camille Chamoun used the villa as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state. The museum opened on 18 November 1961, closed in 2008 for an expansion from 1,500 to 8,500 square metres, and reopened in 2015. On 4 August 2020 the port explosion blew the palace's windows, doors and part of its roof away. Yvonne, 98, was sitting in one of its halls. She died on 31 August. In 2021 her son Roderick owned the palace, lived with his family in the guesthouse, and planned to restore it as a private museum at a cost of millions.